Reframing the War on Drugs – a Conversation with German Lopez

“In the middle of us continuing mass incarceration and a tough war on drugs we are having the worst drug epidemic in US history....."

17 Sep 2017

It is estimated by STAT that in the next decade up to 650,000 Americans will have died due to an opiate overdose. This loss of life is equivalent to that of the entire city of Baltimore. A horrendous figure which brings to light the seriousness of the opiate crisis facing the US. To find out more I spoke to German Lopez, a journalist for Vox, who recently wrote this excellent piece on the growing opiate crisis and the US policy response.

The story German told me was one of contradiction and hypocrisy. Despite gentler language being used to describe users of opiates in the media and Government, actual policy has remained rooted in the 1980s. German explained to me how the stigma associated with opiates is very different for a number of reasons.

The CSTF is a joint initiative of the New York and Vienna NGO Committees on Drugs. To support preparations for the 2019 Ministerial Segment, to be held at the 62nd Session of CND, Global Civil Society Hearings are being held in New York (20th February 2019) and Vienna (26th February 2019).

This event will launch Harm Reduction International's latest report on this issue and discuss how abolishing the death penalty for drug offemnces could serve as an entry point for broader abolition efforts.